Weekly stock-car drivers who care more about track championships than race wins are relatively rare. Most will tell you they drive for victories, and if there's a chance to win a title when the leaves begin to turn brown, that's all the better.

Mark Claar is taking a different approach. He drove to plenty of Grand Stock Division wins at Langley Speedway a year ago — nine in 14 races — but after losing out on the championship to Ricky Derrick by just eight points, he wants a title so bad he can taste it.

"We really want the championship," said Claar, a 47-year-old from Newport News who owns his own remodeling business. "It seems like we start off good every year and can't close the deal."

Claar is off to another of those quick starts, having beaten former division champ Paul Lubno to the line for the victory in the Grand Stock opener. He'll try to add victories two and three on Saturday when the Grand Stocks highlight a seven-race card at Langley with Twin 20-lappers.

Claar's hunger for a title is understandable considering how close he came the past two seasons. He was far out in front in the points race in 2010, when technical inspectors nullified a Claar victory by ruling that a tire rim was the wrong size. Claar still disputes the decision.

With those nine victories in 2011 — including the final seven of the season — Claar could have run away with the title if not for two bouts of bad luck. He was spun out early in the season and finished out of the top 10, then did not finish a race midway through the year because of a bad fuel pump.

"How do you not win a championship with nine wins?" he asked rhetorically. "I tell my wife that sometimes that maybe it's not meant to be."

This year might change that. Claar ran an 18-second qualifying lap in his 2006 Grand Prix to capture the pole for the opener, countering what he says is his history of not qualifying well.

He went on to win the race and sits where he has been so often in past years: on top of the early standings. And while he'll take the wins when he can get them, Claar is more concerned these days about getting the most points he can from any race — and get that long-awaited championship.

"You always try to win, but sometimes you have to settle with what you have," he said. "I want to try and get a top-three in both races."

VMS

Virginia Motor Speedway, the half-mile dirt track near Saluda, is using social media as a vehicle to give fans a chance to win free tickets. …if they can guess weekly features winners correctly.

To play in the contest, fans must click the "like" button on the VMS Facebook page (facebook.com/vamotorspeedway). Then they must select whom they believe will win the feature races in the Late Model, Sportsman, Modified and Limited Stock divisions.

The fan who picks the most winners gets a free adult ticket to the next show, with a draw deciding the winner if there's a tie. Anyone who picks all four winners automatically wins a ticket. Deadline for submitting guesses is 3 p.m. on the day of the race.